ANDREW MCLEOD FROM DUNDEE JAILED OVER CHILD ABUSE IMAGES FOUND AT SOCIAL WORK OFFICE
In December 2016, a disturbing case unfolded involving Andrew McLeod, a resident of Dundee, who was found to have committed a serious offence involving child abuse images.The incident came to light during a routine social work meeting at a Dundee office, where police discovered that McLeod, a known sex offender, was in possession of indecent material on his phone.
Andrew McLeod, aged 39 at the time, had previously served a year in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl.
Following his release, he was subject to strict conditions, including being placed on the sex offenders register for a period of ten years.
Despite these measures, McLeod’s actions at the social work office raised significant concerns.
During the meeting at the Dundee social work office, McLeod had informed social workers that he was using a social media application on his phone to communicate with friends in America.
This disclosure prompted public protection officials to impose an additional condition on him, requiring him to surrender his phone for police inspection whenever requested.
On 31 March, McLeod attended a pre-arranged appointment at the office, where he signed a document acknowledging the new condition.
Subsequently, police requested to examine his phone.
McLeod handed over the device, and a preliminary inspection was conducted in his presence.
The officers uncovered a disturbing collection of indecent images and videos of children.
Specifically, 83 still images and three videos depicting child abuse were retrieved from his phone.
McLeod admitted that he had been showing these images during the meeting, which further compounded the severity of his actions.
Following these findings, McLeod was charged with downloading indecent images of children.
He was subsequently convicted of this offence, which took place on 31 March at Friarfield House in Dundee.
At the time of the court proceedings, McLeod was an inmate at HMP Perth.
During the sentencing hearing, defence solicitor Paul Parker Smith indicated that the court might consider a custodial sentence, possibly coupled with a supervised release order.
However, the presiding sheriff, Alastair Brown, expressed grave concern over the case, emphasizing that such conduct is symptomatic of a deeply-rooted problem.
The court’s decision reflected the seriousness of the offence and the need for appropriate punishment to protect the community from further harm.
